Making Mining the Asteroids and the Moon Legal

MarkWhittington writes: Popular Science reported on a bill called the Space Act of 2015 that has passed the House and may soon pass the Senate that will allow private companies to own the natural resources that they mine in space. The idea would seem to be a no-brainer. However, the bill is causing some heartburn among some space law experts, especially in other countries. Fabio Tronchetti, a lawyer at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China, argues that the law would violate the Outer Space Treaty.

Comments

Re:US got bored forcing their laws on other countr

[Schmorgluck]

Nope, it's the EU requiring companies to comply with its laws when they exert their activities in the EU.

Re:china is just mad

[JasterBobaMereel]

China can currently get to the moon, the USA can't ...

On the moon at least, Outer Space Treaty is clear:

[vikingpower]

"Neither the surface nor the subsurface of the Moon, nor any part thereof or natural resources in place, shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person."
( Article 11, paragraph 3 ).

On "other celestial bodies" however, e.g. asteroids, the Treaty is silent regarding property and appropriation.